Male, Female Pilots Make Different Kinds of Errors in
Plane Crashes

By Ming TaiBloomberg School of Public Health

Male pilots flying general aviation (private) aircraft in
the United States are more likely to crash due to inattention or
flawed decision making, while female pilots are more likely to
crash from mishandling the aircraft, according to a study by
researchers at the Bloomberg
School of Public Health. The study, published in the May
issue of Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine,
identifies the differences between male and female pilots in
terms of circumstances of the crash and the type of pilot error
involved.

"Crashes of general aviation aircraft account for 85 percent
of all aviation deaths in the United States. The crash rate for
male pilots, like motor vehicle crashes, exceeds that of crashes
of female pilots," explains Susan P. Baker, professor of
health policy and
management at the Bloomberg School. "Because pilot youth and
inexperience are established contributors to aviation crashes, we
focused only on mature pilots, to determine the gender
differences in the reasons for the crash."

The researchers extracted data for this study from a larger
research project on pilot aging and flight safety. The data were
gathered from general aviation crashes of airplanes and
helicopters between 1983 and 1997, involving 144 female pilots
and 287 male pilots ages 40-63. Female pilots were matched with
male pilots in a 1:2 ratio, by age, classes of medical and pilot
certificates, state or area of crash and year of crash. Then the
circumstances of the crashes and the pilot error involved were
categorized and coded without knowledge of pilot gender.

The researchers found that loss of control on landing or
takeoff was the most common circumstance for both sexes, leading
to 59 percent of female pilots' crashes and 36 percent of males'.
Experiencing mechanical failure, running out of fuel and landing
the plane with the landing gear up were among the factors more
likely with males, while stalling was more likely with
females.

The majority of the crashes--95 percent for females and 88
percent for males--involved at least one type of pilot error.
Mishandling aircraft kinetics, such as incorrect use of the
rudder, poor response to a bounce or inability to recover from a
stall, was the most common error for both sexes but was more
prevalent among females (accounting for 81 percent of the
crashes) than males (accounting for 48 percent). Males, however,
appeared more likely to be guilty of poor decision making, risk
taking and inattentiveness, examples of which include misjudging
weather and visibility or flying an aircraft with a known defect.
Females, though more likely to mishandle or lose control of an
airplane or helicopter, were generally more cautious and
conscientious than their more venturesome male counterparts.

Among other differences noted by the study: Older pilots
(ages 55-63) made fewer errors than younger pilots (40-49); male
pilots had twice as much flight time as female pilots; crashes of
male pilots had more serious consequences, including fatalities;
and females were slightly more apt to use a shoulder restraint
than males.

"Our study reveals several gender differences in the types
of pilot error involved in general aviation crashes," Baker
concludes. "In order to improve training of pilots, the most
common errors--mishandling aircraft kinetics, poor decision
making, and inattention--merit increased consideration." However,
researchers note that there always will be some pilots who make
errors, and therefore preventive strategies should go beyond
improved pilot training to include all aspects of the aviation
environment.